Statement by Religious Leaders of the Twin Cities  (January, 1995)

" Seek the welfare of the city.. and pray to the Lord on its behalf, 
for in its welfare you will find your welfare" Jeremiah 29:7

The Twin Cities region is facing conditions in the urban core that pose serious and urgent problems for all citizens of the area. As religious leaders, we take this occasion to call for a renewed commitment to "rebuild the city" – to revive and strengthen the urban core of our metropolitan community.

 Our churches and synagogues have a pastoral and spiritual mission; and in that role, we serve thousands of individual members of our congregations every day. But we also have a social mission, a mandate to work for a just and humane society. It is in this context that we seek to address the social and economic issues that confront the urban centers of our region.

 We applaud the leadership of those who have initiated a serious and growing public debate about the future of the Twin Cities. Individuals and organizations in both the public and private sectors – elected officials as well as leaders in the media, business, the nonprofit community, and academia – have begun a very important process. They have analyzed patterns of development in the Twin Cities region and provided a clearer picture of the problems and opportunities that face us in the future. More importantly, they have begun the search for new directions that will promote the common good of the entire region.

An Urgent Challenge

The challenges that face our cities are especially important because of the vital role that our urban center plays in the life of the entire region. It would be a mistake to assume that the cities are primarily a collection of problems and weaknesses. They are not. We ourselves know the rich history of many inner city congregations and the important role they have played for decades as community builders and centers of urban life.

Despite the adversities that they face, our urban neighborhoods are places with many unique assets and advantages. Most retain a strong sense of community and reflect a rich diversity in terms of culture and race. They enjoy a close proximity to the downtown business and cultural centers. They have a great deal of valuable housing stock and underutilized commercial property, as well as a very good transportation system, and many excellent schools. And they are home to thousands of hard-working people with the same dreams, hopes, and spiritual values as those who live in other parts of our region. These valuable qualities make it all the more important that we act to reverse the decline that threatens the core communities of our cities.

 We believe that one of the most urgent challenges for the region is to reverse the economic and social decline in the urban core. This is only one dimension of the larger set of issues regarding the welfare of the metropolitan area, but it deserves special attention because of the severity and centrality of the issues involved. Consider the signs of crisis that affect the central cities of our region: deepening inner city poverty, growing disparity between city and suburbs, increased racial segregation, fewer decent-paying jobs, declining property values and tax bases along with an increase in violent crime and other social ills. .

 The sources of these urban problems are multiple and complex, but it must be acknowledged that many of the root causes stem from forces beyond the central city neighborhoods themselves. National economic and tax policies as well as regional housing and development policies have contributed to the creation of a metropolitan area that is increasingly divided into "haves" and "have-nots." Urban sprawl has triggered a process in which people with greater incomes have moved from central cities to suburbs, and the urban core has remained home to growing concentrations of people with lower incomes, fewer educational opportunities, and less access to living wage jobs. While urban residents continue to struggle valiantly to overcome these obstacles, the larger economic and social forces have often dwarfed and negated their efforts. .

 As religious leaders, we call upon all people of faith to help reverse the decline in the urban core. This is a duty of all Twin Cities residents, but particularly Christians and Jews who's very faith tradition calls them to "seek the welfare of the city." (Jeremiah 29:7) Meeting this responsibility is not only the sensible thing to do; it is the morally right thing to do.

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Moral Principles

As moral teachers, we bring to the discussion of these issues a set of moral and social values that are rooted in the Jewish and Christian traditions. From the Christian commandment to love God and love one's neighbor to the Jewish value of "tzedakah" or justice, our religious traditions have emphasized that all believers must work for a more just world. From these principles, we emphasize two moral themes that have a special relevance for the debate about urban issues:.

Community. God has created us, not in isolation, but rather, in community. As members of one human family, we are interdependent. Our responsibilities to one another cross political, social, and racial boundaries, for when one member suffers, we all suffer as one.

Concern for the poor and vulnerable. Poor and disadvantaged people have a special place in the Judeo Christian conscience. A basic moral test of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. We are called by God to respond to the needs of all our sisters and brothers, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response. By putting the needs of the poor first, we build a stronger community for all.

We call upon the members of our congregations to embrace these basic moral principles and to make them the "test" for policies and laws that impact the health of the urban core.

Renew, Rebuild, Reinvest

While the economic and social trends affecting the urban core are powerful and complex, we know that they are not inevitable. Our urban problems have not yet reached the level of severity experienced by some other urban centers in the nation. Moreover, we have strong leadership and sufficient resources in our region to reverse current trends and rebuild the urban core. This task will require a long-term commitment, but we believe that it is time to take on that task with a sense of urgency and renewed energy. This is a responsibility which belongs to every believer and every congregation. Our welfare as a city cannot be simply delegated to planning boards and policy makers. We must be "co-creators," rebuilders, and stewards of the many gifts that God has given us.

 Our goal must be to ensure that these central city neighborhoods are vibrant, healthy communities, places where children will be as well educated, as healthy, and as safe as children in any other community. Today, for thousands of children in many of our urban neighborhoods, these conditions do not exist. Instead they are striving to grow up while surrounded by poverty, crime, violence, drugs, and hopelessness.

 Changing these conditions and rebuilding the central cities is a responsibility that must be shared by every citizen of the metropolitan region. For the health of the urban core is critical to the success of the entire region. Our suburbs and cities are linked in a single economy, and we are already paying a heavy price for isolating poor people in neighborhoods that severely limit their opportunities for a productive and secure life. If we fail to act in the face of this challenge, the price we all pay will surely escalate. Whether in the form of a decline in personal safety, a less robust regional economy, higher taxes for prisons and expanded welfare roles, or a lower quality of life for all, the price will be enormous. Reversing the current trends, therefore, is in the best interest of all Twin Cities residents, not simply those in inner ring suburbs or core cities. 

A Call to Action

We believe that the Twin Cities region should develop a long-term multi-dimensional strategy to attack inner city poverty and revive the core communities of our cities. This will require that we think and act on both a big and small scale.

We must think small by encouraging individual local initiatives. These include the creative leadership that has been shown by individual citizens working to promote strong family life and rebuild their neighborhoods. Likewise, it involves individual entrepreneurs in business and non-profit organizations who have worked to improve job opportunities and skills in the inner city. It also extends to organizations such as block clubs, neighborhood associations, community organizations, housing and economic development corporations, businesses, banks, and social service organizations. Churches and synagogues have played, and should continue to play, an important role in organizing efforts to meet the economic and social needs in urban neighborhoods. While these initiatives, both secular and religious demonstrate a great wealth of talent and commitment, we believe it is important that the resources and capacities of these efforts be expanded and supported by people throughout the entire region.

 It is also important that we think and act on a larger, more structural level. For, to a great extent, the root problems affecting the inner city lies in the public policies, institutions, and structures that have shaped the path of development in our cities and our metropolitan region as a whole. It is crucial, therefore, that leaders in the public and private sectors join together in a renewed commitment to shape policies and structures that will reverse the decline in our urban core. We call on elected officials at every level, as well as business and community leaders to take up this task. .

 We urge all members of our congregations to join in this work. For it is not enough to simply address the short term needs of the poor without a corresponding response to the root causes of the problem.

 We believe that the urban challenges facing our region require a long-term, multi-faceted strategy for building and sustaining healthy inner city neighborhoods. While we are not qualified to provide a blueprint for such a strategy, we believe that it should include action in the following areas:.

 Poverty. Our region needs an aggressive metropolitan strategy to reduce poverty. The primary focus of this strategy should be jobs. There is no substitute for jobs that pay a living wage. Therefore, economic reinvestment, improved education and training for low-wage workers, and increased wage levels in the urban core are important elements of a comprehensive strategy.

 Enabling people to move from welfare to work is a second important element of an anti-poverty strategy. The current welfare system is not working and needs major reform. This reform must include substantial commitments to assists recipients with education, job training, and the other supports that are necessary to make the transition from welfare to work. Forcing people off welfare without providing these supports will not reduce poverty or the social costs that go with it. We must work for welfare reform in which the target is poverty, not poor people.

 Racial Segregation. The Twin Cities region suffers from a very high degree of racial segregation. Combined with the problems of concentrated poverty, these racial divisions are a major obstacle to creating a healthy metropolitan community. We note, for example, that people of color in Minneapolis and St. Paul are more likely to live in poverty than are minorities in any of the largest 25 metro areas in the United States.

 It is time for every citizen of our region to face squarely the evil of racism. Whether in the form of individual racism, such as personal discrimination, or in the form of institutional racism, such as housing and educational segregation, this evil must be identified and rooted out if our community is to thrive.

 Housing. Affordable housing for low-income families should be available throughout the metro region. This will require using public policy to change the incentives of a housing market that now works to concentrate low-income families in the inner city.

 Transportation. The metro region needs a transportation system that provides affordable public transit between the central cities and the regions that are developing new jobs. Metropolitan planning should seek to limit suburban sprawl and support programs that enhance our sense of community and interconnectedness, rather than further divide us.

 Tax Policy. Since the plight of the inner city is the responsibility of the entire metro region, policy makers should seek ways of using the tax resources of the metro region as a whole to support the reinvestment initiatives for the urban core. While tax revenues are currently shared in a limited way, we believe additional, more targeted efforts are needed to channel financial resources to the poorest inner city communities.

 Creating Safe Neighborhoods. Renewing inner city neighborhoods will require an increased emphasis on reducing the violence and crime that threatens some urban communities. One important way to reduce the violence is to develop and expand community-based responses such as block clubs, community policing, crime watch initiatives, and community recreation programs. 

Violence, in its many forms, is destructive of human community and an assault on human dignity. We must do all in our power to reduce violence, whether it be in the form of violent crime, domestic violence, or the violence of poverty itself.

Perhaps the most important change that is needed is a greater public recognition that the central cities are important for all of us. Their health is vital not only to those who live and work there, but to the citizens of the entire metro area. Thus, a crucial starting point for each of us is the willingness to see ourselves as members of a larger community – the Twin Cities metro region. The central cities are the heart of that region, and that heart must be strong if the region is to thrive. 

As religious leaders we are committed to do our part. Our churches, synagogues, schools, and social service programs are present in the urban core, and we are dedicated to maintaining and strengthening that presence in any way possible. An essential part of our mission as religious institutions is to nurture the spiritual life of those who live in the city. We will continue to serve that mission by sponsoring programs and institutions that serve the faith life of our urban congregations, that promote strong personal and social values, and that assist people in living out those values.

 We will also work to strengthen urban communities by continuing to support housing and economic development programs which help low-income families, as well as advocacy and social justice initiatives aimed at improving conditions in low-income urban neighborhoods.

 We call on all people of faith, all members of our local congregations, to assist this effort by committing to action at both the personal and social level. At the individual level, we urge people to learn more about the challenges facing the urban core of the Twin Cities. This learning must not be just intellectual, but also personal and relational. Each of us needs to meet and get to know people from neighborhoods and communities different from our own. We support and encourage the expansion of local initiatives to assists suburban congregations in building partnerships with churches, synagogues, and organizations in the central cities.

 We also call on members of local congregations to be active citizens and to use their voices and their votes in ways that support a regional commitment to building a strong and healthy urban core. We urge our members to use the values of our religious traditions as the foundation for promoting public policies that reweave the social fabric and build the common good by paying special attention to the interests of low-income communities.

Conclusion

We conclude by reemphasizing the urgency of the task at hand. The increasing poverty in the central cities and the growing polarization in the region pose a serious threat to the entire metropolitan community. All of us -- in central cities and suburbs alike -- will suffer if the trend is not reversed. We are confident that this region has the potential and the capacity to reverse this trend if we act promptly and decisively. 

The issues that face us are ultimately about the kind of community we seek to build in this region. They are about the kind of people we seek to be and the way in which we choose to live together. They are about social justice and the common good. May these be the values that guide the rebuilding of our cities.